Foster Announces Retirement

Steps Down from Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay

David Foster

After seven years at the helm of Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay, David Foster retires as Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay and transitions to manage the organization’s growing Accessory Dwelling Unit program.

Under Foster’s leadership, Habitat Monterey Bay experienced incredible growth. Staff grew from six to twenty-three; two Habitat ReStores opened, one in Santa Cruz in 2014, then one in Seaside in 2016; 11 affordable homes were built; two Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) were completed under the My House My Home program to help senior homeowners age in place; and a merger expanded the service area to include Monterey County.

Habitat is in the final phase of construction on a seven-unit development on Los Esteros Court in Live Oak, gearing up for the start of construction on an eleven-unit development on Rodeo Creek Court in Live Oak, and in planning for an affordable housing development on an acre of land in the City of Watsonville. With a strong pipeline of projects and new sources for affordable housing funding from the State of California, Habitat is gearing up for additional growth in the coming years.

“It has been a great privilege to serve as Habitat for Humanity’s Executive Director for the past seven years. The Board of Directors, staff and volunteers all have such a deep commitment to the community and to affordable housing. Habitat is primed for future growth under the guidance of a new Executive Director. I look forward to continued involvement in a new capacity as manager of the ADU program,” says David Foster.

Habitat’s concept of building ADUs on the property of senior homeowners to support aging-in-place garnered a Cruz Cares award in 2015 and a partnership with the City of Santa Cruz to launch My House My Home. The program has since grown to serve the unincorporated area of Santa Cruz County, and Foster plans to expand the program throughout Habitat Monterey Bay’s service area of Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties.

Ron Buswell, the Board of Directors Treasurer, will act as interim Executive Director while a hiring committee begins the search for a new Executive Director.

Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay, an independent affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, believes in a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Habitat creates opportunities for low- income families to transform their lives through homeownership in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. Working together as a community, Habitat builds homes with volunteers and offers access to affordable mortgages.